WATCH: Conan O’Brien breaks the news of Robin Williams’ death to his audience

At the end of his show on Monday night, Conan O’Brien informed his audience that Robin Williams had passed away.

“This is unusual and upsetting,” he said, “but we got some news during the show that Robin Williams has passed away.”

The audience audibly gasped as O’Brien continued, “We tape these shows a few hours early and by the time you see this on TV, I’m sure that you’ll know. I’m sorry to anyone in our studio audience that I’m breaking this news. This is absolutely shocking.”

O’Brien, co-host Andy Richter and guest Will Arnett each spoke about Williams’ unique kindness and gentle nature, with Arnett saying, “As funny as he was, he was truly one of the all-time greats, he was even better as a person. He was even more fantastic, just the loveliest, sweetest, one of the kindest guys that I’ve ever worked with.”

About the Author

David Ferguson is an editor at Raw Story. He was previously writer and radio producer in Athens, Georgia, hosting two shows for Georgia Public Broadcasting and blogging at Firedoglake.com and elsewhere. He is currently working on a book.